Hurricane

Chapter 8: Disenthrallment

Maleficent has had a lot of regrets in her life. If she were to list all the things she's done wrong, all the deeds she wishes she's never committed, it would be a list that goes a mile long. She regrets trusting Stephan. She regrets giving her heart to someone who was so entrenched in the influences of avarice and wickedness. She regrets being swayed by her youthful wistfulness. She regrets letting him close enough to betray her.

More than that, though, she regrets letting that man get the best of her. She was so caught up in her loss, grief and misery that she basically let herself be consumed by hatred and desire for revenge. She knows that the poison in her soul is as much her doing as it is Stephan's, because she chose to let his mark seep into her veins. She allowed his treachery to be engraved in her bones. In doing so, she brought down everyone with her. She tainted the Moors with her bitterness, so that the place she used to love became overcast with desolation. The creatures of the Moor that she used to have fun interacting with suddenly grew distant from her because she lashed out at them. Not verbally, no, but her anger towards the world was palpable enough to push them away. Her ties to them became ties of authority instead of kinship.

Maleficent regrets what she's done to Aurora. She was but a child and Maleficent had intended to curse her into a sleeplike death that no one could revoke. Aurora could have had a better life if it weren't for her doing. A selfish part of her cannot regret entangling her life with Aurora's, because the beastie is easily the best thing that has happened to Maleficent. The girl was the one who enabled her to reevaluate her life and change her ways. Aurora gave back her capacity to love. Aurora has made her so happy that some days she just feels so horrified at the thought of what she's done, and despite being forgiven by the beastie, she has yet to truly forgive herself.

Another one of her regrets is Diaval. It's true that she has saved his life, but he need not have offered his life in return. She didn't need to take him and force him to suffer with her all those years. He was in the shadow of her bitterness for so long. He was content being a mere raven but Maleficent has ruined his innocence by turning him into a man, with human thoughts and human consciousness. There is evil in this world, but he need not have experienced it first hand. She took him away from his family, from his kind, and shackled him to this life. He doesn't see it this way, of course. He has always been inclined to think the best of his mistress and he's often thanked her for the life she has given him. He thanks her, repeatedly, for allowing him to stay by her side. If anything, it is she who should be thankful that he chooses to stay when he could leave.

She's got a good life now. Under Aurora's reign, the Moors and the human kingdom are finally united in peace and understanding. Aurora has her own family now, with Phillip and their son, but she's always going to be Maleficent's beastie. Their ties to each other are too strong to be broken. As for Maleficent, she's found her partner in Diaval. If somebody from the past told her that she would fall in love with a raven, she would have checked him or her for signs of insanity. Now, however, it's hard to imagine anything else. Diaval has given her the love she's always longed for, the love she's foolishly looked for elsewhere. He is her guide; she only has to ask him to know whether she's doing the right thing. He is her light; he's her symbol of hope. He is her rock; he's stood by her side at her worst and still remained faithful. He is her every breath. He is her love. He is her home.

She doesn't deserve this, that much she knows. She has done so much wrong in her life and has hurt so many of those dear to her that she wonders why she has been allowed the luxury of happiness. She's too afraid to hold on to this life fully because she thinks she has to pay her dues before she can be happy.

She never realized what effect being trapped in the past has on the people close to her.

"I've had enough", Diaval prefaces their conversation one day with a face so serious it frightens her.

"Of what?" She asks warily. She was afraid he'd say of her. He doesn't, but his next words are not any less painful.

"Of your hesitations, Maleficent! I have been patient with you, and I've given you the time you needed to accept that I'm not going away and that I'm going to love you for the rest of my life. And I'm happy that you've chosen to let yourself love me, but even now it seems you've still not made peace with your choice! I don't need you to feel obligated to love me. I need you to want to! And if you want to, then you have to do it without hesitation. I don't care if you think you don't deserve this. I believe you do. I can believe it enough for the both of us, for now. I am perhaps in no position to do so, but I am asking you to stop vacillating between what you want and what you deem is required of you to make amends for what you've done. The only thing it does it hurt me. Is that what you want, Maleficent? Is it?"

It's not; of course it's not! It's the last thing she wants. She wants to make him happy. She wants to be able to provide the affection and kindness he deserves. What she's never realized is in order to make him happy, she has to make herself happy. So she concedes and tries to let go. She tries to free herself from the bondage of her past. She unshackles herself from her regrets and doubts. She allows herself to claim what she really wants- a blissful life with him.

And as Diaval kisses her with a passion enough to cleanse her soul, she asks: Can she be forgiven for all that she's done to get here?

She wants to be.

She believes.

A/N: Hello again. In case you recognize that last bit, it was indeed inspired by Divergent.

This chapter goes out to Diosa Luna. If I understand your prompt, "improvement", correctly, you wanted a story wherein Maleficent can finally look back to her past without pain and remorse. This story is basically Mal getting to that point. I may have missed the gist of your prompt, but I hope you like this all the same. And thanks for sticking with me throughout this Maleval journey.

As usual, I'm hoping you guys would leave me reviews and tell me what you think. Cheers!